Will the Robot Take my Job? A Roboticist Responds

Feb. 3, 2023

Erik Schluntz tells us whether we have a fighting chance against robots and AI powered technology.

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“Will robots take our jobs?”

Even when intended as tongue-in-cheek question, the answer elicits interesting responses. The reaction also depends on who is being asked.

Ask Erik Schluntz, and his response is decidedly a frank “probably not.”

The co-founder and CTO of Cobalt Robotics in San Mateo, Calif. tells Machine Design that robots—and the AI that drives them—happens to be best at things that humans are bad at.

Take as an example the game of chess. “AI actually was really good at that even 50 years ago, but couldn’t do very basic things that the humans take for granted,” Schluntz said. “So, AI progress is actually happening from the opposite end of the spectrum than we all expected.”

Schluntz offers further context around generative models and recent images generated by GPT-3, Dall-E and Stable Diffusion.

About the Author

Rehana Begg | Editor-in-Chief, Machine Design

As Machine Design’s content lead, Rehana Begg is tasked with elevating the voice of the design and multi-disciplinary engineer in the face of digital transformation and engineering innovation. Begg has more than 24 years of editorial experience and has spent the past decade in the trenches of industrial manufacturing, focusing on new technologies, manufacturing innovation and business. Her B2B career has taken her from corporate boardrooms to plant floors and underground mining stopes, covering everything from automation & IIoT, robotics, mechanical design and additive manufacturing to plant operations, maintenance, reliability and continuous improvement. Begg holds an MBA, a Master of Journalism degree, and a BA (Hons.) in Political Science. She is committed to lifelong learning and feeds her passion for innovation in publishing, transparent science and clear communication by attending relevant conferences and seminars/workshops.

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